Abhinaya

Abhinaya (Sanskrit abhi- 'towards' + nii- 'leading/guide') is the art of expression in Indian aesthetics. More accurately it means "leading an audience towards" the experience (bhava) of a sentiment (rasa). The concept, derived from Bharata Muni's Natya Shastra, is used as an integral part of all Indian classical dance styles.

Abhinaya can be divided into four, according to the Natya Shastra.

This is the movement of the anga or limbs, which include facial expression. In different schools of Abhinaya expressions range from the grotesque to the understated, from the crude to the refined. Āngika abhinaya occurs as Padartha abhinaya (where an artist delineates each word with gesture and expression), or Vakyartha abhinaya (where a dancer acts out an entire stanza or sentence).

Speech is used in drama and also in music when the singer expresses the emotion through his or her singing. In the Kuchipudi and Melattur styles of Indian classical dance the dancers often mouth the words of the songs (padartha abhinaya). Kerala still has stage art forms that have Vāchika Abhinaya as a dominant component - Koodiyattam, Nangyar Kooothu, Ottan, Seetangan & Parayan - the tree types of Thullal, Mudiyettu are the most popular.

Another means of representation of the play is indeed the costumes and physical decorations of the actors and the theatre. In dramas, and dance dramas, costume and making are distinguished by the sex, race, sect or class or the social position of the characters, giving the production of the presentation some semblance of reality. The decorations of the stage theatre including lights and accessories are related to the scene of the depiction in which enhances the rasa between the audience and artists also comes under this category.

In kathakali there are totally different dress and makeup for 4 different characters; the good characters have green makeup while the demons have kati vesham in which the nose is painted red. But in solo dance performances aharya abhinaya is a convention.

Sāttvika Abhinaya is the mental message, emotion or image communicated with the audience through the performer's own inner emotions. The dancer or actor has to use experience, something authentic, to capture the audience and to elicit an empathetic response.

...
Wikipedia